“YOU CAN’T PROTEST THE RACE COMMITTEE”
by David Hagler US Sailing Judge, Crownsville, MD
This is an incorrect statement and is uttered by racing sailors much more often than should be the case. A boat may only protest another or request redress. In the case of a sailor not protesting another boat, they are by default requesting redress. (Please see RRS 60.1). It is too common to hear competitors claim they are going to 'protest the race committee'. In short - it is not possible to protest the race committee. (However, it is possible to protest another boat if the R/C is on that boat, though the protest would be against the boat and not the R/C, but that is another issue altogether.)